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BALDWIN 

A  Brief  Memorial  of 

Philip  Marett. 


(P.  rmiAjM^^^^  Z) 


A   BRIEF   MEMOEIAL 


PHILIP    MARETT 


SIMEON    E.    BALDWIN, 


BE PORK   THE 


New  Haven  Colony  Historical  Society 


September  22d,   1890. 


NEW    HAVKN : 

T  u T'r  L  E ,    Morehouse  &  T  .a  y  l  o  r ,    I'm  n t e  r s . 
1890. 


""iSJisls;?™" 


PHILIP      MAEETT. 

By   Simeon    E.    Baldwin. 

[Read  September  22d,  1890.] 

The  great  gifts  of  Philip  Marett  and  his  family  to  the  charities 
of  New  Haven  have  made  his  name  a  familiar  one,  since  his 
death.  But  coming  here,  as  he  did,  in  advanced  years,  and  with 
no  connection  with  the  active  business  of  the  place,  there  were 
few  of  our  citizens  who  were  familiarly  acquainted  with  him,  and 
many  to  whom  his  very  presence  among  us  was  unknown.  It 
was  my  good  fortune  to  be  admitted  to  his  friendship,  when  I 
was  a  young  man,  and  he  an  old  one,  but  from  our  first  meeting, 
his  distinguished  manner  and  gentle  courtesy  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  me,  as  they  did,  I  believe,  upon  all  who  were 
thrown  in  his  society. 

The  Marett  family,  originally  of  France,  and  probably  of  Nor- 
mandy, Avas  settled  in  Jersey,  the  largest  of  the  "  Channel  islands," 
as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century.  It  has  three  branches,  known 
as  those  of  St.  Helier,  La  Haule,  and  Avranche,  in  one  of  which 
the  manor  of  La  Haule,  St.  Aubin's,  has  descended  for  nearly 
three  hundred  years.  The  name  was  spelt  Maret  until  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Peter  Maret,  born  in  1641,  the  second  "Seigneur  of  La  Haule,' 
had  eight  children,  of  whom  the  thii-d,  Philip  Marett,  boi-n  in 
1701,  emigrated  to  New  England,  when  a  young  man,  and  was 
married  in  Boston,  August  12,  1736,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Sewall,  the  pas- 
tor of  the  Old  South  church,  to  Mary  Hichborn.  The  Plichborns 
wei'e  a  well  known  Boston  family.  Two  of  them  were  on  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence  raised  by  the  town  in  1776  to  con- 
sult as  to  the  movement  for  independence.  A  silver  cream 
pitcher  of  graceful  shape,  marked  with  the  initials  of  Mary  Hich- 
born, is  still  preserved,  which  was  made  by  Apollos  de  Rivoire, 
after  he  had  changed  his  name  to  Paul  Revere.  He  was  a  native 
of  Guernsey,  another  of  the  Channel  Islands,  and  Philip  Marett 
and  he  came  to  Boston  at  about  the  same  time. 

The  former  was  a  sea  captain,  and  on  April  21,  1759,  "being 
bound  to  sea,"  made  his  will,  disposing,  among  other  things, 
of  his  house  "  at  the  westerly  part  of  Boston,"  and  of  certain 
"I'eal  estate  in  Jersey."     It  is  probable  that  in  the  fall  of  1760 


he  died  abroad,  and  in  his  native  island,  for  a  bill  for  some  of 
the  expenses  of  his  funeral,  has  been  kept  among  the  papers  of 
the  family,  which  seems  to  have  been  rendered  by  a  Jersey 
house.  It  indicates  that  the  funeral  took  place  from  a  church, 
and  is  sufficiently  illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the  time  to 
deserve  a  place  here.     It  reads  thus  : 

"Dr.     Mr.  Philip  Marett,  for  Funeral  of  his  Father.     Furnished  per 

Ch.  Robin. 
1760. 
Dec''"'- 1»'.  To  6i  y'l'  black  Tamy  @  28/  £  9.  2 

To  i  j'^  D".  @  36/ 

1  y"  dyed  Linnen  @  23/  2. 

To  4^  Binding  @  2/,  2  y^'  (5-  4/.     1  Lace  5/,  Silk  & 

thread  5/  1.  7 

To    2  Muslin  (a  4  8. 

To    4  Black  Cloth  @  10  for  the  pulpit  40. 

To    9  Black  wool"  Scarfs  @  8  72. 

To    9  Crape  Hat  bands,  13i  ells  @  32/  21.23 

To  27  prs.  white  wool"  (Gloves  @  20/  for  Bearers,  &c.  27. 
To    4  prs  Women's  Do.  (5  25/,  5  prs.  black  @  27/         11.15 
To    3  prs.  Do.  Kid  Do.  @  30/  4.10 

To    1  pr.  Men's  black  wool"  Do.  @  23/,  1  pr.  Buckles 

@20/  2.  3 

To    1  Black  cloak  3. 

French  Cur-^y      £202.  9 
Recu  le  montant  aydessus 

Mag.  D'auvergne." 

The  French  pound,  or  livre,  originally  and  down  to  about  the 
year  A.  D.  1100,  representing  a  pound  of  pure  silver,  had 
been  gradually  lowered  in  weight  and  value,  until  at  this  pei'iod 
it  represented  but  about  a  seventy-eighth  part  of  a  pound,  or  say 
18  cents  of  our  money.  This  mercer's  bill,  therefore,  came  to 
about  $37.50  in  our  American  currency. 

The  Avill  of  Philip  Marett  was  proved  in  Boston,  Oct.  29,  1762, 
His  wife  and  an  only  son,  Philip  jVIarett,  survived  him  ;  the  latter 
having  been  born  March  31st,  173  7. 

From  some  of  the  letters  that  passed  soon  afterwards  between 
young  Philip  and  his  Jersey  relatives,  as  well  as  from  the  bill  of 
Mr.  Robin,  I  infer  that  he  accompanied  his  father  on  his  last 
voyage,  and  revisited  with  him  the  old  seat  of  the  family. 

In  1766,  Miss  Esther  Marett,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Edward 
Marett,  then  the  "  seigneur  of  La  Haule,"  writes  her  American 
cousin  a  lively  account  of  a  trip  she  had  made  to  the  main  land, 
since  she  had  seen  him  last. 

"In  July,  1763,  I  went  to  St.  Malo  in  France  (with  some  gen- 
tlemen and  lady*),  and  from  thence  to  Rennes,  the  chief  ToAvn  of 
the  Province  of  ]3retagne  :  it  is  a  very  agreeable  place,  where 


there's  fine  buildings.  They  had  a  concert  every  week.  Being 
invited,  I  went.  Everything  there  was  neat  and  decent,  and 
great  variety  of  musicians,  and  the  lady*  well  dres'd,  some  of  'em 
painted. 

In  October  1764,  I  went  to  Guernsey  with  young  M"*^  Le  Cras, 
that  had  business  there.  We  stay'd  about  two  months.  The 
town  gentry  had  a  concert  and  an  assembly.  I  went  to  both, 
being  desired  to  go.  The  commerce  is  not  so  flourishing  in  G.  as 
it  was  some  time  ago,  but  great  many  of  'em  have  large  fortune 
to  live  ujjon." 

Philip  Marett,  second,  like  his  father,  followed  the  sea,  and  be- 
fore many  years  revisited  Europe  as  the  captain  of  a  merchant- 
man, trading  with  Spain.  After  the  Revolution,  he  planned  a 
voyage  to  Jersey,  with  a  cargo  of  New  England  goods,  but  the 
commercial  policy  of  England  towards  her  old  colonies  proved 
too  unfavorable.  In  reply  to  a  letter  written  in  1786  to  his 
cousin  Esther,  she  urges  him  wai'mly  to  come  in  person,  if  he  can- 
not bring  his  vessel. 

"  You  give  uj)  all  thoughts  of  seeing  us,  as  the  English  have 
lay'd  such  heavy  duty  on  all  American  produce,  but  they  have 
not  yet  lay'd  tax  upon  your  Dear  Body,  &  you  can  transport  it 
where  you  please." 

The  last  letter  from  this  faithful  correspondent  is  written  in 
1792,  during  the  disturbances  attending  the  French  Revolution. 

"  We  smart  in  Jersey  for  the  misfortunes  of  the  time.  God  send 
us  Peace.  We  lose  a  great  deal  by  the  unjust  proceedings  of  our 
debtors,  but  they  triumph  over  us,  being  countenanced  to  pay  us 
not  in  wheat,  as  it  is  stipulated.  Wheat  is  sold  three  £  or  3£,  10, 
the  cabotel,  and  we  receive  41s.,  forty-three  or  four  of  our  rentes, 
french  money.  Dear  Sir,  I  cannot  make  a  detail  of  our  Jersey 
affairs,  they  are  so  numerous  &  it  is  such  a  confusion.  It  is  a 
bottomless  pit  ;  very  much  like  our  neighbours  :  one  thing  quite 
different.  The  nobility  of  France  is  cast  off,  &  in  this  Island 
some  new  gentry  rise  every  day,  and  the  Lawyers  and  Ring- 
leaders reap  a  good  harvest.  It  is  an  advantage  to  fish  in 
troubled  waters." 

Capt.  Philip  Marett  married,  in  1781,  Elizabeth  Cunningham 
of  Boston,  daughter  of  James  and  Elizabeth  (Boylston)  Cunning- 
ham, Their  residence  was  at  what  was  then  No.  88  Newbury 
street,  where  he  died  July  31,  1799.  The  inventory  of  his  estate 
amounted  to  about  $4,000.*     Paul  Revere,  the  second,  of  Revolu- 

*  Probate  Eecords,  Suffolk  Co.,  Book  97,  p.  467.  One  of  the  articles 
of  parlor  furniture  Avas  a  clock,  appraised  at  .^40,  which  is  not  improba- 
bly that  now  in  the  collections  of  this  society,  presented  by  the  execu- 
tors of  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Gififord. 


6 

tionary  memory,  was  one  of  the  appraisers,  and  several  pieces  of 
silver  of  his  workmanship  descended  in  the  family.  Capt.  Marett 
was  a  parishioner  of  Rev.  Dr.  Webb,  pastor  of  the  Hollis  Street 
church. 

He  left  a  widow  with  two  little  children,  a  girl  of  ten,  and  boy 
of  six.  This  lad,  the  Philip  Marett  who  finally  became  a  citizen 
of  New  Haven,  was  born  Sept.  25th,  1792,  and  early  distinguished 
himself  at  the  public  schools  of  Boston. 

Among  the  noteworthy  bequests  of  Dr.  Franklin  was  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  I  was  born  in  Boston,  New  England,  and  owe  my  first  in- 
structions in  literature  to  the  free  grammar  schools  established 
there  ;  I  therefore  give  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  to  my  execu- 
tors, to  be  by  them,  the  survivors  or  survivor  of  them,  paid  over 
to  the  managers  or  directors  of  the  free  schools  in  my  native  town 
of  Boston,  to  be  by  them,  or  those  person  or  persons  who  shall 
have  the  superintendence  and  management  of  the  said  schools, 
put  out  to  interest,  and  so  continued  at  interest  forever,  which  in- 
terest annually  shall  be  laid  out  in  silver  medals,  and  given  as 
honorary  rewards  annually  by  the  directors  of  the  said  free  schools 
for  the  encouragement  of  scholarship  in  the  said  schools,  belong- 
ing to  the  said  town,  in  such  manner  as  at  the  discretion  of  the 
selectmen  of  the  said  town  shall  seem  meet."* 

One  of  these  medals  Philip  Marett  won  at  the  age  of  12.  It 
bears  the  following  inscriptions  : 

Adjudged  (Reverse.) 

by  the 
School  Committee 

as  a  The  gift  of 

Reward  of  Mei'it 

to  Franklin 

Philip  Marett 
1804 

It  was  his  mother's  expectation  at  first,  to  fit  him  for  Harvard 
College,  with  the  view  of  his  making  the  law  his  profession  ;  but 
circumstances  prevented  this,  and  he  left  school  to  enter  into 
active  business  at  an  early  age.  When  seventeen,  he  re-opened 
correspondence  with  his  cousins  in  Jersey,  announcing  his  sister's 
marriage,  and  inquiring  in  regard  to  the  early  history  of  the 
Marett  family.  A  reply  was  received  from  Philip  Marett,  the 
fourth  seigneur  of  La  Haule,  saying  that  by  the  deeds  in  his  pos- 
session he  could  assure  him  that  they  were  "  sprung  from  an 

*  1  Frankhn's  Works,  ed.  1834,  p.  193. 


honest  and  very  ancient  parentage,"  which  could  be  traced  back 
for  over  two  hundred  years.  A  copy  of  the  Marett  coat  of  arms 
was  also  sent  in  this  letter.  This  Philip  Marett  died  in  1824,  at 
the  age  of  82,  leaving  a  son,  Philip  Marett,  to  inherit  the  manor, 
between  whom  and  his  American  cousin  of  the  same  name  friendly 
letters  were  occasionally  exchanged  for  many  years.* 

During  the  war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain,  a  few  weeks  after 
the  great  naval  duel  between  the  Constitution  and  the  Guerriere, 
the  former,  bringing  the  prisoners  she  had  made,  came  into  Boston 
harbor,  where  two  other  of  our  men  of  war  were  also  lying.  Mr. 
Marett,  then  nineteen  years  old,  paid  the  fleet  a  visit,  with  a  part}'- 
of  ladies.  lie  wrote  so  spirited  an  account  of  the  incident,  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  that  I  quote  it  in  full. 

"BosTOisr,  Tuesday,  Sept.  8th,  1812. 

*  *  *  Last  Tuesday  in  company  of  friends  I  went  to  sail  in  a 
packet  to  view  our  fleet  in  this  harbor. — On  arriving  below  where 
the  frigates  Pres't.  and  U.  States  were  riding  at  anchor,  I  being 
acquainted  with  one  of  the  ofticers  of  the  U.  States  went  on 
board  and  procured  an  invitation  for  the  ladies  to  visit  that 
ship,  and  the  barge  was  expedited  for  our  whole  party.  I  went 
throughout  the  vessel  and  was  much  distressed  on  going  into 
the  place  appropriated  for  the  lodgings  of  the  crew,  called  the 
berth  deck:  there  were  150  poor  wretches  in  their  hammocks  laid 
up  with  the  scurvy  (a  rottenness  of  the  bones).  They  were  so 
near  each  other  that  we  had  to  move  them  in  order  to  pass,  and 
the  effect  Avas  so  unpleasant  to  the  olfactory  nerves,  I  was  glad  to 
beat  a  retreat. 

After  we  had  been  on  board  some  time  the  commander  who 
had  been  absent  returned,  and  invited  us  to  his  apartments.  AVe 
put  the  ladies  into  his  elegant  little  stateroom,  and  the  gent", 
sat  with  him  in  the  cabin.  This  frigate  is  commanded  by  the 
renowned  Decatur,  who  signalized  himself  in  the  Tri})olitan  war. 
He  is  about  30  years  of  age,  tall  and  slim,  piercing  black  eyes 
and  a  very  commanding  countenance — he  conversed  with  us  two 
hours,  and  is  as  elegant  in  his  manners  and  deportment  as  he  is 
brave  in  action.  He  is  a  decided  federalist,  and  a  Philadelphian, 
married  to  one  of  the  first  women  in  the  United  States. 

I  was  pleased  witli  the  magnanimity  he  displayed  in  speaking 
of  Cap.  Dacres,  commander  of  the  frigate  Guerriere,  destroyed 
by  the  Constitution.  Commodore  Decatur  said  he  considered 
Dacres  a  first  rate  oflicer,  a  man  of  great  skill,  and  indisputable 
personal  courage.  "  I  think  "  continued  he  "  the  result  of  the 
engagement  can  be  attributed  not  to  any  Avant  of  ability  or 
prowess  in    the   British   oflicer,  but    rather   to  the  contempt   in 

*  The  late  Sir  Robert  Pipon  Marett  of  La  Haule  manor  (who  died  in 
1884),  married  the  daughter  of  tlie  last  Phihp  Marett  of  La  Haule,  who 
died  in  1866.  two  years  before  his  New  Haven  cousin. 


which  he  hohi  his  enemy  :  as  he  had  been  used  to  fighting 
Frenchmen,  and  had  no  exjjerience  of  Americans,  he  conceived 
we  were  like  them." 

We  sailed  at  11  and  returned  at  6  o'clock,  highly  gratified. 
Commodore  Decatur  is  a  man  whose  modest  manners  engage  in- 
terest, and  when  to  those  wei'e  joined  the  consideration  of  his 
tried  firmness  and  courage  he  excites  our  liveliest  admiration. 

I  Avas  singularly  struck  with  the  ai)pearance  yesterday  of  Capt. 
Dacres  and  Capt.  Hull: — those  persons  who  a  few  days  since  in 
the  heat  of  battle  were  endeavoring  to  take  aAvay  the  lives  of 
each  other,  and  would  have  exulted  at  success  in  their  attempt, 
are  now  seen  walking  arm  in  arm  as  brothers  ;  it  reminded  me  of 
a  most  elegant  description  of  the  battle  of  Talavera,  by  an  English 
bard,  when  in  the  heat  of  fight  the  French  and  Spaniards  together 
met  in  a  stream  as  friends,  but  after  bathing  rushed  again  to  arms 
and  fought  more  Avarmly  for  the  suspension. 

Capt.  Dacres  is  about  24  years  old,  small  and  not  elegantly 
made;  looks  something  like  James  Savage,  Esquire.  He  is  a  very 
pleasant  amusing  man,  full  of  life  and  anecdote,  is  possessed  of 
immense  wealth,  married  to  an  elegant  woman  in  England,  and 
fights  for  amusement  and  glory.  He  says  this  will  be  the  last  time 
he  visits  Boston  in  this  war,  unless  to  batter  it  down,  and  means 
to  enjoy  himself  now  he  is  here.  He  is  treated  with  great  dis- 
tinction and  though  he  is  very  haughty,  as  a  man  attaining  so 
high  a  rank  in  the  British  navy  natixrally  would  be,  is  a  perfect 
gentleman. 

The  pa])ers  will  give  you  a  full  account  of  the  dinner  on  Sat- 
urday. The  tickets  were  |5  ;  one  was  offered  me  but  it  was  in- 
convenient for  me  to  attend.  Decatur  and  Capt.  Lawrence  onl}^ 
dined  with  them  ;  Commodore  Rogers  was  indisposed. 

"When  the  Guerriere  was  fighting  the  Constitution,  Dacres 
ordered  his  men  to  play  Yankee  Doodle  by  way  of  derision,  and 
told  his  men  to  take  care  of  the  molasses  in  order  to  give  the 
Yankees  some  black  strap,  (a  drink  composed  of  rum  and  mo- 
lasses peculiar  to  N.  England).  He  told  his  crew  he  would  give 
them  20  minutes  to  take  Capt.  Hull,  but  the  poor  fellow  in  20 
minutes  was  taken  himself. 

When  Dacres  was  in  Halifax,  he  said  he  did  not  wish  to  fall  in 
Avith  less  than  two  American  frigates;  then  he  might  get  some 
honour,  but  Avith  one  he  could  not  get  glory.  Here  he  prophe- 
sied correctly.  Admiral  SaAvyertold  him:  "Capt.  Dacres,  though 
you  are  a  young  man  you  deserA^e  well  of  your  country,  you  have 
fought  Avell  hitherto,  but  remember  you  are  now  to  fight,  not 
Frenchmen,  but  men  of  the  same  blood  as  yourself." 

So  much  for  all  this,  but  I  hope  a^ou'11  pick  some  amusement 
out  of  it."  ^  *  *  * 

Mr.  Marett  was  of  a  thoughtful  disposition,  fond  of  reading 
books  of  substantial  merit,  and  wrote  Avith  force  and  facility  from 
an  early  age.     He  had  a  way,  not  uncommon  among  those  born 


9 

in  the  eighteenth  century,  of  putting  his  thoughts  upon  any  sub- 
ject that  interested  him  deeply  upon  paper.  One  of  his  manu- 
scripts of  this  kind,  dated  in  July,  1813,  when  he  was  not  quite 
twenty-one,  begins  tlius  : 

"  Wlien  I  hear  a  person  express  a  wish  to  look  into  futurity,  I 
am  sur])rised  at  his  want  of  reflection  and  consideration.  Not 
only  should  such  wishes  be  suppressed  as  a  duty  we  owe  to  God 
to  submit  with  alacrity  to  his  arrangements,  but  because  it  is 
evidently  for  the  happiness  of  man  that  the  designs  of  his  maker 
in  respect  to  his  personal  condition  should  be  inscrutable.  In 
no  instance  is  the  wisdom  of  God  more  extensively  and  forcibly 
demonstrated  than  in  keeping  us  in  ignorance  of  the  events  which 
are  to  befall  us.  Were  it  not  so,  what  stimulant  should  we  have 
to  enterprize  and  exertion  ;  what  inducement  should  we  possess 
to  urge  us  to  activity  in  improvement  ?" 

We  do  not  need  to  be  told  that  the  young  man  whose  reflec- 
tions ran  in  this  vein,  had  been  a  close  reader  of  the  Spectator,  of 
Johnson,  and  of  the  stately  moralists  of  the  day. 

Soon  after  coming  of  age  he  was  married  to  a  beautiful  girl  of 
seventeen,  Martha  (Bird)  Knapp,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Mary 
(Fairservice)  Knapp  of  Boston.  Her  miniature  by  Tisdale,  taken 
in  1813,  is  similar  in  style  to  that  of  Mr.  Marett  by  the  same 
artist,  taken  probably  the  same  year,  which  is  in  the  collections  of 
this  Society.  To  those  of  us  who  recollect  her  in  her  old  age, 
the  charm  and  loveliness  of  expression  which  to  the  last  animated 
her  features,  had  the  same  sweetness  and  tender  delicacy  which, 
made  her  early  beauty  so  captivating  in  this  speaking  portrait. 

Mr.  Knapp  resided  at  the  "  South  End  "  and  owned  a  row  of 
houses  on  Kneeland  street,  in  one  of  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marett 
passed  their  first  years  of  married  life.  In  another,  lived  Lemuel 
Shaw,  who  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Knapp,  and  was 
afterwards  one  of  the  great  chief  justices  of  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Marett  soon  became  extensively  engaged  in  European  com- 
merce, and  in  1818,  was  appointed  the  Vice-consul  of  Portugal 
for  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  a  ])osition  which  he 
retained  for  twelve  years,  and  which  Avas  soon  made  to  cover  also 
Maine  and  Rhode  Island.  Its  duties  put  him  often  in  charge  of 
admiralty  litigation,  in  which  the  rights  of  Portuguese  subjects 
were  involved,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  this  busi- 
ness  met  with  the  warm  approval  of  the  government  by  which 


10 

he  was  accredited.     The  most  interesting,  perhaps,  of  these  causes 
was  that  of  the  Marianna  Flora. 

In  1821,  the  U.  S.  schooner  Alligator,  Lieut.  Stockton,  com- 
manding, was  on  a  cruise  against  pirates  and  slave-traders,  and 
sighted  in  mid-ocean  a  Portuguese  merchantman,  called  the 
Marianna  Flora.  The  Alligator  steered  towards  her  and  was 
received  by  a  cannon  shot  across  the  bows.  The  United  States 
flag  was  then  hoisted,  but  the  Marianna  Flora  continued  firing, 
under  the  aj^prehension,  as  it  afterwards  proved,  that  the  Alliga- 
tor was  a  pirate  sailing  under  false  colors.  Lieut.  Stockton, 
thinking  that  the  Portuguese  ship  must  be  of  the  same  character, 
returned  a  broadside,  at  which  the  Marianna  Flora  ran  up  her 
national  flag,  and  surrendered.  Her  papers  were  submitted  for 
inspection,  and  such  apology  as  the  case  admitted  of  made,  but 
Lieut.  Stockton,  believing  that  she  had  acted  in  a  piratical  way 
and  insulted  tlie  authority  of  his  government,  put  a  prize-crew 
on  board,  and  sent  her  to  Boston.  There  she  was  libelled  in 
admiralty,  and  Mr.  Marett  as  Vice-consul  for  Portugal  directed 
the  management  of  the  defence.  The  District  Court  held  that 
the  seizure  was  unjustifiable,  and  also  sustained  his  claim  in 
behalf  of  the  owners  for  damages  for  breaking  up  the  voyage, 
awarding  them  about  |20,000.  This  was,  of  course,  a  very 
serious  matter  for  Lieut.  Stockton,  against  whom  this  decree  was 
made,  and  he  was  driven  almost  beside  himself  by  anxiety.  He 
appealed  to  the  Circuit  Court,  and  there  upon  new  pleadings,  the 
claim  for  damages  was  disallowed.  Mr.  Marett  then  appealed  to 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  where  the  owners  of  the 
Marianna  Flora  were  represented  by  his  brother-in-law,  John 
Knapp  of  Boston,  (a  graduate  of  Harvard  of  the  class  of  1800, 
whose  ^.  B.  K.  badge  is  among  the  collections  of  this  Society)  and 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet.  Blake  and  Webster  Avere  the  opposing 
counsel,  and  as  the  case  was  one  of  first  impression,  it  was  argued 
Avith  great  care,  and  after  a  full  examination  of  the  governing 
principles  of  international  law.  Judge  Story  pronounced  the 
opinion  of  the  court,  and  it  is  one  of  his  ablest  efforts.  Stockton, 
he  said,  liad  been  forced  to  act,  on  a  sudden  emergency,  after 
an  unprovoked  attack  on  the  flag  of  his  country,  for  Avhich 
but  a  poor  excuse  had  been  offered.  No  doubt  the  Marianna 
Flora  was  on  a  lawful  voyage,  and  her  owners  were  innocent 
of  any  Avrong  ;  but  their  agent,  the  master,  had  deliberately 
fired    on    an    American  ship   of    war.       It    Avas  an   indignity   to 


11 

the  nation,  and  Lieut.  Stockton  might  well  hesitate  in  assuming 
the  arbitration  of  national  wrongs.  The  case  was  one  new  to  the 
courts,  and  of  course  new  to  him.  It  would  be  harsh  now  to 
hold  him  personally  liable  for  heavy  damages,  because  in  exer- 
cising on  the  sea  a  discretion  officially  entrusted  to  him,  he  had 
come  to  a  result  different  from  that  reached  after  three  trials  in 
successive  courts.  In  view  of  all  the  evidence,  it  was  right  to 
release  the  ship,  because  her  captain  had  only  committed  an  error 
of  judgment,  but  that  error  was  no  good  reason  for  giving  his 
owners  indemnity  from  its  natural  consequences,  at  the  expense 
of  a  gallant  officer  of  our  navy  who  had  no  other  end  in  view  than 
to  protect  the  honor  of  his  country.  The  decree  for  damages  was 
therefore  set  aside,  and  the  owners  left  to  settle  their  accounts 
with  their  own  captain.* 

Mr.  Marett's  wide  acquaintance  Avith  the  course  of  foreign 
trade,  coupled  with  sound  judgment,  gave  his  opinions  great 
weight  in  Boston  upon  all  questions  of  commercial  intercourse, 
and  he  could  express  them  with  remarkable  clearness  and 
precision. 

When  the  tariff  bill  of  1820  was  pending  in  Congress,  by 
which  a  considerable  increase  in  jjrotective  duties  was  to  be 
granted,  and  all  manufactured  goods  were  to  be  excluded  from 
our  ports  unless  coming  dii'ect  from  the  country  of  their  origin, 
Mr.  Marett  contributed,  over  the  signature  of  "  P."  a  vigorous 
attack  upon  the  bill,  to  the  Boston  Repertorij,  a  newspaper 
then  conducted  by  Nathan  Hale.  I  quote  a  few  passages  from 
it,  to  show  his  terse  and  telling  style  of  composition. 

"  That  it  is  desirable  to  merchants  to  be  able  to  prosecute  trade 
free  from  all  unnecessary  restrictions, — to  be  allowed  to  export 
whatever  articles  they  choose,  and  in  return  to  import  such  com- 
modities as  will  be  most  beneticial,  no  one  will  deny  ;  and  that  to 
enjoy  such  a  privilege  is  not  considered  unreasonable,  is  shown  by 
the  efforts  made  on  the  part  of  our  government  to  induce  Great 
Britain  to  open  her  colonial  ports  to  our  commerce.  But  while  the 
executive  and  legislative  branches  of  government  are  legislating 
and  negotiating  to  secure  free  trade  and  unrestricted  commerce, 
they  are  called  upon  by  the  Connnittee  of  Manufactures  to  enact 
a  statute  which  Avill  })ro(luce  greater  embarrassment,  and  strike  a 
more  deadly  blow  at  our  commerce  than  could  be  effected  by  the 
navigation  laws  of  all  the  nations  of  Europe  together."     *     *     * 

*The  Marianna  Flora.  11  Wheaton's  Reports,  p.  1. 


12 

"It  would  be  unjust  to  impeach  the  motives  of  the  committee 
that  reported  this  bill,  but  the  inference  is  irresistible  that  they 
consider  their  duty  to  be,  not  to  consider  the  claims  of  all  classes, 
but  to  advocate  and  uphold  those  of  the  manufacturers, — leavin<y 
adverse  interests  to  be  protected  by  their  approjjriate  guardians. 
In  such  a  state  of  things  it  is  a  consolation  to  know  that,  although 
the  interests  of  Boston  may  not  be  jjroperly  appreciated  by  hinv 
to  whose  charge  they  are  confided,  Ave  yet  have  from  this  State 
many  devoted  to  her  service,  and  one  at  least  who,  though  he 
may  differ  from  us  in  political  sentiments,  has  a  knowledge  of  the 
interests  of  commerce,  and  who  will  not  desert  them," 

This  bill  passed  the  House,  but  was  lost  by  one  vote  in  the 
Senate.  The  opposition  to  it  in  Massachusetts  culminated  in  a 
public  meeting,  at  which  Webster,  then  a  member  of  Congress, 
made  one  of  his  first  speeches  on  the  tariff  question.* 

Mr.  Marett  was  during  this  period  of  his  life  one  of  the  firm 
of  Plympton,  Marett  &  Dorr.  They  conducted  an  extensive 
commercial  business,  and  with  large  financial  success. 

He  took  an  active  interest  in  the  political  movements  of  the 
day,  and  was  the  confidential  associate  of  such  leaders  as  Alex- 
ander H.  Everett,  Abbot  Lawrence  and  Nathan  Hale,  in  the 
Tariff  and  Bank  agitation  attending  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Jackson.  Mr.  Marett  was  one  of  the  "  National  Republican  " 
party,  in  opposition  to  the  administration,  and  became  an  active 
and  influential  Whig,  when  that  party  rose  into  existence. 

In  1835,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Common  Council  of 
the  city,  and  held  the  ofiice  by  re-election  for  several  successive 
terms. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  financial  crisis  of  1837,  a  convention 
of  representatives  of  the  principal  Eastern  Banks  was  called  to 
consider  the  policy  to  be  pursued,  with  reference  to  the  suspension 
of  specie  payments. 

Mr.  Marett  was  then  President  of  the  New  England  Bank  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  meeting.  His  practical  wisdom  and 
decision  df  character  produced  a  deep  impression  on  those  to 
whom  he  had  been  unknown  before,  and  he  was  said  to  have  been 
the  leading  spirit  in  determining  the  action  of  the  Convention. 

In  1838,  he  bought  a  lot  on  Summer  street,  near  Washington, 
and  put  a  handsome  residence  upon  it,  which  he  occupied  during 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  Boston,  and  made  the  seat  of  a  generous 

*  Tausig's  Tariff  History,  72,  note. 


13 

hospitality.  It  was  opposite  the  spot  occupied  by  Trinitj'^  Church 
until  the  great  fire  of  1872,  and  stood  next  to  that  of  Dr.  Jacob 
Bigelow,  who  purchased  and  built  at  the  same  time  with  Mr. 
Marett,  and  in  concert  with  him.  A  brief  note  from  Dr.  Bigelow, 
which  was  found  among  Mr.  Marett's  papers,  indicates  the  rela- 
tions in  which  they  stood  to  each  other,  as  well  as  the  character 
of  each. 

"  Dear  Sir  : — As  you  are  kind  enough  to  insist  on  considering 
as  a  professional  visit,  what  I  had  considered  as  merely  a  neigh- 
borly ofiice,  it  is  but  fair  that  I  should  retain  what  may  be  con- 
sidered a  reasonable  fee,  and  return  you  the  balance. 

Very  sincerely  youi's,  Jacob  Bigelow." 

The  enclosure,  no  doubt,  represented  the  sura  by  which  Dr. 
Bigelow  insisted  that  Mr.  Marett  had  overestimated  his  services. 

Boston  has  ahvays  been  famous  for  the  number  of  its  social 
organizations  and  public  institutions  of  one  kind  and  another. 
It  has  always  also  been  famous  for  its  dinner-parties,  and  it 
learned  early  that  the  two  can  be  easily  combined.  The  monthly 
meetings  of  the  trustees  of  the  Boston  Library,  of  the  wardens 
and  vestry  of  King's  Chapel,  and  of  many  similar  bodies,  took  the 
shape  of  a  friendly  dinner  or  supper  together  at  the  house  of  one 
of  their  number.  The  dinner-hour  fifty  years  ago,  was  still  not 
later  than  half  past  three  or  four,  and  evening  parties  also  broke 
up  by  the  time  when  they  now  sometimes  begin. 

Mr.  Marett  was  junior  warden  of  King's  Chapel,  and  a  memo- 
randum of  one  of  their  vestry  meetings  at  his  house,  in  January, 
1841,  has  been  preserved,  which  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  their 
social  supper-table.  Both  wardens  and  all  the  vestrymen  were 
present,  and  also  the  rector  of  the  church.  The  bill  of  fare  com- 
jjrised  one  pair  of  black  ducks,  one  of  tame  ducks,  one  of  blue- 
bills,  one  of  widgeons,  one  of  red-heads,  half  a  dozen  quails,  a 
bushel  of  raw  oysters,  two  dishes  of  mashed  potato,  one  of  maca- 
roni, celery,  currant  and  cranberry  jellies,  custards,  blane  mange, 
preserved  apples,  calves-foot  jelly,  preserved  peaches,  two  squash 
pies,  two  of  apple,  two  of  cocoanut,  two  of  peach,  fancy  cake, 
cheese-cake,  cheese,  olives,  and  preserved  prunes,  and  two  three- 
pint  pyramids  of  ice  cream.  Then  "  when  the  white  cloth  was 
removed,"  came  in  on  a  "  high  glass  dish  "  apples,  oranges,  pears, 
and  grapes,  flanked  by  dishes  of  Avalnuts  and  raisins.  The  table 
was  also  (it  was  before  the  days  of  Father  Matthew)  well  fortified 


14 

with  decanters  of  sherry  and  Madeira,  a  flagon  of  hock,  and  one 
of  claret,  and  four  bottles  of  champagne  ;  followed  by  coffee  and 
cigars, 

Mrs.  Marett  was  a  hostess  whose  charm  of  manner  none  Avho 
enjoyed  her  hospitalities  could  forget,  and  their  only  child.  Miss 
Ellen  Martha  Marett,  afterwards  Mrs.  Arthur  N.  Gifford,  was  a 
person  of  remarkable  social  attractions,  coiipled  with  high  intel- 
lectual power.  Her  portrait  by  Alexander  in  the  galleries  of  the 
Yale  Art  School  represents  her  as  she  looked  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, but  is  more  successful  in  depicting  the  beauty  of  her  features, 
than  in  showing  the  animation  of  expression  which  gave  them  a 
peculiar  interest  to  everv  observer.  Under  such  auspices  the 
spacious  parlors  of  Mr.  Marett's  house  on  Summer  street  were  a 
favorite  center  of  social  enjoyment,  and  we  need  not  wonder  that 
one  of  his  old  Boston  friends, — an  accomplished  scholar  and  his- 
torian,— wrote  him  long  after  his  removal  to  New  Haven,  "  I  have 
never  found  a  substitute  for  your  home,  since  you  left  here." 

In  the  summer  of  1840  he  took  his  wife  and  daughter  on  an 
extended  western  tour,  partly  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  health, 
which  had  become  somewhat  impaired  by  the  pressure  of  accumu- 
latmg  duties.  His  services  were  sought  in  various  quarters,  out- 
side of  his  regular  business  engagements,  and  the  many  positions 
which  he  filled  as  chairman  of  a  school  committee,  trustee  of  a 
library,  warden  of  King's  Chapel,  and  delegate  to  banking  and 
political  conventions,  contributed  to  wear  upon  his  strength. 

Mr.  Marett  was  a  good  friend.  He  had  the  art  of  conferring 
obligations,  as  if  he  were  receiving  them  ;  or  rather  it  was  with 
him,  not  art,  but  nature.  His  disposition  was  kindly,  and  his 
good  otfices  were  seldom  sought  in  vain,  by  any  who  had  the 
slightest  reason  to  ask  them. 

In  a  grateful  letter  from  the  principal  of  the  Winthrop  School 
in  Boston,  on  occasion  of  Mr.  Marett's  retiring  from  his  official 
connection  with  the  school-board  in  1840,  the  writer  says  : 

"  Your  steady  and  vigilant  care  of  its  interests,  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  early  history  of  the  school  must  always  grate- 
fully remember.  The  institution  and  all  its  teachers  owe  much 
to  you.  As  for  myself  I  can  never  forget  my  obligation  to  you 
for  your  uniformly  friendly  and  considerate  regard  for  my  welfare 
and' success  as  teacher.  *  *  *  When  I  most  needed  the  s^nnpathy 
and  support  of  those  who  were  observing  m}^  course,  with  the 
utmost  good  judgment  and  delicacy  they  were  afforded  me,  and  I 


15 

shall  never  cease  to  remember  them.  Then  I  felt  my  obligation 
to  yon:  I  endeavored  in  some  measure  to  repay  it,  in  silence,  by 
renewed  exertion  on  my  part  tt)  be  deserving  of  your  approbation 
and  confidence.  Now  I  cannot  but  make  this  acknowledgment, 
poor  as  it  may  be,  of  your  long  continued  friendship  and  kindness." 

A  couple  of  years  later,  one  of  his  friends  went  to  Louisiana  to 
accept  a  Professorshi])  in  a  College,  and  found  on  his  arrival  that 
the  main  College  building  had  just  been  burned  down,  and  that 
the  students  had  scattered,  and  the  means  of  the  institution  were 
sadly  crippled.  He  wrote  at  once  to  Mr.  Marett,  describing  his 
situation,  and  soon  received  a  reply,  suggesting  another  opening 
in  the  North.  In  the  letter  thanking  him  for  this  suggestion,  the 
Avriter  says  :  "  If  the  opportunity  you  intimate  should  occur,  it 
will  not  be  among  the  least  grateful  circumstances,  that  I  shall  be 
indebted  for  it  to  one,  to  whom  kindness  is  so  natural,  and  whose 
manner  of  conferring  such  obligations  renders  them  of  double 
value." 

One  of  those  with  whom  he  had  been  most  intimate  during  his 
life  in  Boston  wrote  him  in  1858,  in  acknowledgment  of  a  kindly 
act  of  remembrance:  "It  is  another  of  those  acts  of  friendship 
and  good  will,  which  you  have  so  long  and  so  frequently  shown 
me,  and  which  although  they  cannot  be  repaid,  will  never  be 
forgotten." 

At  the  age  of  53  Mr.  Marett  withdrew  from  active  business, 
with  a  handsome  fortune.  He  went  abroad  with  his  daughter  in 
May,  1846.  Railways  at  that  time  existed  only  over  a  few  of 
the  most  traveled  routes,  and  a  large  part  of  their  trip  was  ac- 
complished in  the  post-chaises,  now  almost  forgotten.  In  Eng- 
land, however  from  the  first,  their  railway  trains,  being  composed 
of  light  cars,  were  run  at  rapid  speed,  and  he  notes  having 
traveled  from  London  to  York  in  September,  1846,  87  miles,  in 
two  hours  and  a  half,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  35  miles  an  hour. 

At  Paris,  they  spent  a  month.  He  i-ead  French  easily,  and 
added  to  his  library,  while  there,  by  the  purchase  of  a  number  of 
rare  and  interesting  works,  in  that  language,  maiidy  of  an  his- 
torical character. 

Soon  after  his  return  to  this  country,  which  was  in  October, 
1846,  he  I'emoved  to  Brooklyn,  and  after  spending  a  few  years 
there  and  in  New  York,  or  in  travel  in  the  South  during  the 
winter  months,  finally  settled  on  New  Haven  as  his  place  of  resi- 


16 

dence.  In  1852  he  established  himself  in  St.  John's  Place,  front- 
ing the  Green,  and  here  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  The 
management  of  his  rapidly  increasing  fortune  occupied  part  of 
his  time,  and  the  rest  was  mainly  spent  in  reading,  and  in  the 
society  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  between  whom  and  himself 
there  always  existed  the  tenderest  and  deepest  affection.  He 
was  also  bound  by  the  strongest  attachment  to  his  sister  Mrs. 
Baldwin  of  Boston.  A  letter  which  she  wrote  him  when  absent 
on  a  summer  excursion  a  few  years  before  her  death,  shows  so 
fully  their  feelings  to  each  other,  that  I  venture  to  quote  from  it. 

"  To-day's  mail  brought  iis  plenty  of  newspa})ers,  but  they 
did  not  convey  any  intelligence  of  those  near  and  dear  friends 
who  wand  more  closely  round  my  heart  each  succeeding  year. 
First  on  the  list  is  my  beloved  brother,  the  idol,  almost,  of  my 
childhood,  the  com})anion  of  my  youth,  the  friend  and  counselor 
of  my  mature  age,  and  for  whom  I  pray,  as  for  my  husband,  that 
1  may  not  survive.  I  hope  it  is  not  selfish.  I  did  not  ask  it,  in 
the  case  of  my  beloved  mother." 

She  had  her  wish,  dying  in  1862,  the  same  year  with  her  hus- 
band, and  seven  years  before  her  brother.  Chief -Justice  Shaw, 
who  after  he  had  passed  his  eightieth  year  had  made  a  pleasant 
visit  to  his  kinsman's  family  at  New  Haven,  died  in  1861,  and  a 
list  Avhich  Mr.  Marett  kept  of  his  old  friends,  who  had  passed 
away  since  he  left  Boston,  tells  a  pathetic  story  of  his  watch  of 
a  narrowing  circle,  as  it  closed  about  him. 

His  life  here  was  one  of  retirement,  particularly  after  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter  to  Mr.  Arthur  N.  Gifford  took  her  to 
New  York  in  1858.  He  had  a  small  circle  of  warm  friends  in 
New  Haven,  and  his  house  was  always  an  attractive  one  to  them  ; 
but  his  later  years  were  spent  much  at  his  studj'-table  among  his 
books  He  had  a  well-chosen  library  of  towards  a  thousand 
volumes  furnished  with  the  leading  English  and  American  poets, 
novelists,  and  historians,  and  a  number  of  the  best  biographies. 

He  continued,  also,  to  the  last  to  maintain  his  interest  in  the 
events  of  the  day,  and  in  its  current  literature.  Occasionally  he 
sent  an  article  to  the  local  newspapers.  When  a  real  or  fancied 
case  of  hydrophobia  induced  the  city  authorities  to  authorize  the 
killing  of  all  dogs  found  on  the  streets  unmuzzled,  he  wrote  in 
this  way,  quite  an  essay  iu  their  defence,  urging  the  better  ex- 
ample set  by  London  where,  he  said,  wandering  dogs  were  taken 
in  charge,  and  sold  at  auction,  the  proceeds  going  to  a  "Home 


17 

for  Lost  and  Starving  Dogs."  It  is  not  improbal)le  that  this  was 
one  of  the  causes  wliich  led  his  daughter,  after  liis  death,  to 
endow  the  "  Sheltering  Home  for  Animals "  in  Boston,  which 
bears  her  name,  and  also  to  leave  by  will  a  bequest  for  the  foun- 
dation of  a  society  in  New  Haven  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty 
to  animals. 

Mr.  Marett  had  a  large  correspondence  of  a  friendly  nature, 
and  his  letters  were  of  the  kind  one  likes  to  get  ;  full  of  news, 
full  of  kindness,  and  full  of  the  personality  of  the  writer,  him- 
self. "I  feel,"  wrote  one  of  his  old  Boston  friends  to  him  from 
Paris  in  1859,  "that  my  letters  are  a  very  poor  return  for  yours. 
You  give  me  more  information  than  all  my  other  correspondents 
upon  the  topics  that  interest  me  the  most." 

Mr.  Marett  had  all  the  depth  of  feeling  and  justness  of  obser- 
vation which  go  to  make  up  a  poetic  nature,  and  with  these 
qualities  he  had  a  facility  at  rhyming,  which  might  have  made  a 
less  sensible  man  fancy  himself  in  truth  a  poet.  He  often 
amused  himself  in  writing  in  verse  to  his  immediate  family,  when 
away  from  home,  and  the  birthday  gifts  which  passed  between 
him  and  his  daughter  were  often,  down  to  his  last  years,  accom- 
panied by  notes  in  rhyme,  expressing  on  each  side  (for  she  also 
was  almost  a  poet),  the  tenderest  affection  with  that  grace  and 
simple  force  which  plain  prose  seems  often  unable  to  compass. 

He  was  of  a  thoughtful  and  meditative  disposition,  and  religion 
was  one  of  the  chief  subjects  that  engaged  his  attention,  in 
advancing  years.  He  was  a  Unitarian  of  the  Channing  school, 
deeply  penetrated  by  a  sense  of  the  goodness  of  God  ;  the  rever- 
ent child  of  a  loving  Father.  "  Thus  thinking  of  Him,"  he  wrote 
to  his  daughter  a  few  years  before  his  death,  "  with  a  heart  over- 
flowing with  lively  gratitude  for  all  His  blessings  to  me,  I  do  not 
dread  an  approach  to  his  immediate  presence,  confident  that  He 
will  not  judge  me  by  the  inflexible  principles  of  justice,  but  with 
an  indulgent  view  of  my  weakness,  my  temptations,  and  my 
imperfections." 

A  private  journal  which  he  kept  is  full  of  reflections  of  a  similar 
nature,  and  contains  occasional  entries  of  prayers,  carefully  elabo- 
rated in  the  style  of  a  former  generation,  and  breathing  a  spirit 
of  trust  and  perfect  faith  in  the  Divine  goodness  and  mercy. 

In  1867,  at  the  age  of  74,  he  drew  his  own  will,  providing  for 
the  ultimate  appropriation  of  about  seven  hundred  thousand  dol- 


18 

lars  for  various  public  and  charital)le  objects,  a  life  interest  being 
reserved  to  his  wife  and  daughter. 

The  estate  was  distributed  in  1889,  the  New  Haven  Hospital 
receiving  a  fifth,  the  city  for  its  aged  and  infirm  poor,  not  paupers, 
a  fifth,  Yale  College  a  fifth,  each  of  our  Orphan  asylums  a  tenth, 
the  city  a  tenth  to  buy  books  for  the  Young  Men's  Institute  or 
any  free  public  library  that  might  from  time  to  time  exist  here, 
and  the  State,  a  tenth,  for  the  care  or  relief  of  imbecile  or  feeble- 
minded pei'sons. 

This  provision  for  a  free,  public  library  in  New  Haven,  was 
the  first  ever  made  by  any  one,  and  its  existence  was  relied  on  as 
one  of  their  strongest  arguments  by  those  whose  efi^orts  induced 
the  city  government  to  establish  our  present  public  library  a  few 
years  ago. 

His  daughter,  Mrs.  Gifford,  who  died  last  fall,*  left  a  fortune  of 

*  Mrs.  Giflford  died  September  7th,  1890.  Her  married  life  was  passed 
in  New  York,  and  her  later  years  at  New  Haven,  with  occasional 
winters  spent  in  the  sovith  or  abroad.  Her  health  had  become  impaired 
before  the  family  left  Boston,  and  was  never  fully  regained,  severe 
neuralgic  attacks  often  bringing  her  great  suffering.  For  all  who  were 
in  pain  or  sorrow,  she  felt  deep  sympathy,  and  was  ready  to  express  it 
both  in  deed  and  word.  "  Haud  ignara  mali,"  she  might  well  say, 
"  miseris  succurrere  disco."  Among  her  larger  gifts  during  her  life- 
time, for  objects  of  this  character,  were  endowments  of  four  free  beds 
in  perpetuity  in  as  many  hospitals,  and  the  erection  and  maintenance 
of  a  spacious  home  for  lost  and  suffering  animals  in  Boston.  The 
Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  and 
the  New  York  Society  of  a  similar  nature,  both  found  in  her  a  constant 
contributor,  and  occasional  articles  from  her  pen  appeared  in  Our 
Dumb  Animals,  evincing  her  tender  regard  for  the  weakest  of  God's 
creatures.  To  feel  that  she  was  relieving  suffering  in  others  was  her 
greatest  enjoyment. 

Rev.  George  E.  Ellis,  D.D.,  a  friend  of  her  childhood,  who  conducted 
the  services  at  her  funeral,  at  Mt.  Auburn,  spoke  of  her  thus,  to  those 
assembled  about  the  bier,  in  the  little  chapel  of  the  cemetery  : 

"  To  some  of  us  here  gathered,  there  is  a  pathetic  revival  of  burdened 
memories  in  the  return  of  this  mortal  form,  after  a  long  renaoval,  to 
its  former  associated  scenes,  to  find  a  resting-place  Avith  kindred  dust. 
We  recall  her  in  the  years  of  a  happy  and  sunny  youth,  an  only  child, 
tenderly  nurtured  in  a  privileged  home  of  favored  intimacies. 

"  The  home  of  the  fond  parents  have  passed  into  the  shadows.  We 
have  followed  her  in  maturer  and  lengthened  years,  still  keeping  the 
heart  of  childhood  with  living  affections,  as  those  endeared  by  them, 
one  by  one,  left  her  to  solitude. 

"  These  later  years  have  for  the  most  part  found  her  withdrawn  and 
secluded.     The  varied  discipline  of  invalidism  and  bereavement  was 


19 

over  a  million,  which  went  also  mainly  in  charity,  the  New 
Haven  Hospital  receiving  of  this  in  all  over  $300,000. 

chastening  and  depressing,  but  not  uncheered.  Her  letters  of  confi- 
dence reveal  her  trials  and  her  peace. 

"  She  had  a  gentle  spirit,  with  all  tender  feelings  and  keenly  sensi- 
tive sympathies.  She  had  tears  for  other's  woes,  and  patience  for  her 
own.  By  submission,  trust,  and  a  waiting  faith,  there  had  been 
wrought  in  her  that  most  deep  and  blessed  of  inward  experiences, 
defined  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  as  '  Reconciliation  to  the  Divine  Will.'" 

Under  the  provisions  of  her  will,  in  addition  to  considerable  legacies 
to  relatives  and  friends,  and  other  gifts  to  private  individuals  of  a 
charitable  nature,  the  following  amounts  have  been  bestowed  on  public 
institutions  : 

The  Ellen  M.  Gilford  Sheltering  Home  Corporation  of  Boston,  $85,390.00 
The  General  Hospital  Society  of  Connecticut,  or  * '  Ellen  M. 

Gifford's  Home  for  Incurables,"  and  connecting  Chapel,  337,898.00 

The  New  Haven  Dispensary, .  5,000.00 

The  American  Humane  Society, 50,000.00 

The  Massachussetts  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 

Animals 55,000.00 

The  Connecticut  Prison  Association 5,000.00 

The  New  Haven  Societv  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 

Animals -" 5,000.00 

The  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  Society 15,000.00 

The  Boston  Port  and  Seamen's  Aid  Society 5,000.00 

The  Massachusetts  Society  for  aiding  Discharged  Convicts  -  5,000.00 
The  New  York   Society  for  the   Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 

Children 5,000.00 

The  Society  for  the  Relief  of  the  Destitute  Blind  in  the  City 

of  New  York 5,000.00 

The  New  York  Colored  Home  and  Hospital 5.000.00 

The  Washington  Humane  Society 5,000.00 

The  New  Hampshire  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty 

to  Animals 5,000.00 

The  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 

Children 5.000.00 

The  Perkins  Institution  for  the  Blind 15,000.00 

The  Children's  Island  Sanitarium,  Boston 5,000.00 

The  West  End  Nursery,  Boston 5,000.00 

The  Woman's  Charity  Club,  Boston 30,000. 00 

The  New  England  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children,  Boston,  10,000. ()( ( 

The  Sunny  Bank  Home,  Watertown - o.OOO.ito 

The  Widow's  Society,  Boston  - 30,000.00 

The  Lying-in  Hospital,  Boston  .. . 5,300.00 

The  Associated  Charities.  Boston-  _  _ 5,300.00 

The  Adirondack  Cottage  Sanitarium.  Saranac  Lake,  N.  Y. ..  10,600.00 

The  Retreat  for  the  Sick,  Richmond,  Va 30,000.00 

The  North  End  Diet  Kitchen,  Boston 2,600.00 

The  American  Seamen's  Friend  Society,  New  York _..  10,000.00 

The  Home  for  Aged  Colored  Women,  Boston 5,000.00 

The  Convalescents'  Home,  Boston 2,000.00 

The  Home  for  Children  and  Aged  Women.  Roxbury 1,000.00 

The  Retreat  for  the  Sick,  Petersburg,  Va.  ^ 5,000.00 

The  Massachusetts  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  Boston 5,000.00 

The  Home  for  Aged  Couples,  Boston 5,000.00 

Total, $785,108.00 


20 

A  clause  in  her  (autoixrapliic)  will  shows  so  touchiiigly  the 
closeness  of  the  ties  that  bound  father  and  daughter  together 
that  I  give  it  in  full. 

"  As  my  father  (the  late  Philip  Marett  of  New  Haven,  Conn't) 
and  I  were  one  in  heart  and  interest,  and  he  bequeathed  a  large 
sum  for  the  sup})ort  of  free  beds  in  the  hospital  at  New  Haven,  I 
desire  after  death  that  we  may  be,  as  it  Avere,  associated  in  one 
cause  at  last.  He  left  one-fifth  of  his  residuary  estate  to  the 
General  Hosjutal  Society  of  Connecticut,  in  trust,  the  income  to 
be  a}»i)lied  to  the  support  of  Free  Beds  for  the  benefit  of  poor 
patients  in  that  Institution,  giving  preference  to  the  Incurably 
affected,  if  such  were  admissible. 

"  Feeling  a  great  sympathy  for  Incurables  and  a  desire  his 
wishes  shall  be  carried  out,  I  therefore  give  to  said  Society  Fifty 
Thousand  (50,000)  Dollars,  a  portion  to  be  used  as  far  as  neces- 
sary, for  the  erection  of  a  separate  building  on  the  Hospital 
grounds,  corresponding  in  appearance  to  the  buildings  of  late 
years  erected,  and  with  all  necessary  comforts  for  such  Invalids. 

"  This  building,  to  be  known  as  '  Ellen  M.  Gifford's  Home  for 
Lu-urahles,''  must  be  large  enough  to  accommodate  at  least  Thirty 
(30)  patients,  and  any  residue  not  thus  used,  to  be  kept  as  a  sepa- 
rate fund,  as  '  Ellen  M.  Gift'ord's  Fund,'  and  said  Society  to  apply 
the  income  of  30  or  40  Thousand  Dollars  of  what  it  may  receive 
under  my  Father's  will  for  the  support  of  poor,  indigent.  Incura- 
bles, occui)ying  the  said  '  Home '  or  elsewhere  in  the  Hospital,  if 
said  Home  is  full — this  not  to  interfere  Avith  the  endowment  from 
his  Will  of  some  Free  Beds  for  the  poor  in  the  General  Hospital, 
not  Incurables.  I  further  direct  that  the  said  'Ellen  M.  Gifford's 
Home '  shall  l)e  opened  to  all  poor  and  deserving  IncurahU  patients 
without  distinction  of  race,  relif/ioyi,  or  color  ;  but  to  secure  har- 
mony in  view  of  any  possible  prejudices,  I  direct  that  a  separate 
wai'd  or  room  be  set  apart  for  colored  patients.  If  the  funds 
shouhl  not  be  sufficient  to  estabJish  what  I  desire,  a  further  sum 
of  Forty  (40  Thousand)  may  be  added  for  general  fund  for  the 
Incur  ahlesy 

Mr.  Marett  died  in  New  Haven,  March  22d,  1869.  His  widow 
followed  him  in  1878,  and  his  daughter  in  1889. 

The  Marett  name  in  America,  in  the  line  of  descent  from  Philip 
Marett  of  Jersey,  is  extinct,  but  a  monument  more  perennial  than 
bronze  will  i)reserve  their  memory,  as  long  as  there  are  ])oor  and 
sick  to  be  relieved,  as  long  as  Colleges  and  libraries  endure,  as 
loni;  as  Christian  charity  is  dear  to  human  hearts. 


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